KC had her pups last night. Started about midnight, and was done about 4:30am. The weights go from just under a pound to just over a pound. She had an easy
delivery, and so far has been a very good mom. She has plenty of milk, and the pups are all nursing strongly.

Preparing for your dog's labor and puppy care can be both exciting and fun; still, awareness of potential problems is of paramount importance. It is a good idea to
keep track of your dog's breeding date so as to know when to expect what.

After about 35 days of pregnancy, the mother's caloric requirements will begin to
increase. In general, she should require about twice as much food as usual whereas, when she begins nursing, she will need three times as much food. Do not
supplement calcium as this can cause metabolic imbalances; also, excess vitamins may be harmful to the puppies. The best nutritional plan is to buy a dog food
approved for growth and feed according to the package; such diets are balanced and require no supplementation. Exercise of the pregnant bitch need not be
restricted until after the first 4 to 6 weeks of pregnancy.

Some time around the 45th day, your dog should be examined by a veterinarian. At this time, the
skeletons of the unborn pups will have mineralized and are thus visible on a radiograph. Your dog's abdomen should be x-rayed so that you know how many pups to
expect. Ultrasound may be used to confirm pregnancy much earlier (after 25 days, the embryonic heart may be seen beating) but it is more difficult to count the
number of pups using this method.

A comfortable area should be set aside for whelping and raising the puppies. The bitch should feel at home here and should
be able to come and go as she likes while the puppies must remain confined.

The gestation period of the dog is considered to be 63 days though this is not
written in stone and a normal range might be 58 to 68 days.

Impending Labor

When your dog's due date is approaching, you
should begin monitoring her rectal temperature. When her temperature drops below 100F (normal canine temperature is 101F-102F), labor may be expected within
24 hours.

The First Stage of Labor

During this stage, uterine contractions begin. The bitch will appear very restless and may pace,
dig, shiver, pant, or even vomit. This is all normal and all an owner can do is see that the bitch has water available should she want it.

The Second and
Third Stages of Labor

The second stage is the hard labor stage in which the puppy is expelled. The third stage refers to the expulsion of the
placenta and afterbirth. Each pup may not be followed by afterbirth; the mother may pass two pups and then two placentas. This is normal.

Puppies are born
covered in membranes that must be cleaned away or the pup will suffocate. The mother will bite and lick the membranes away. Allow her a minute or two after birth
to do this; if she does not do it, then you must clean the pup for her. Simply remove the slippery covering and rub the puppy with a clean towel. The umbilical cord
may be tied in a knot about one inch from the pup and cut with scissors on the far side of the knot.

Expect one pup every 45 to 60 minutes with 10 to 30
minutes of hard straining. It is normal for bitches to take a rest partway through delivery, and she may not strain at all for up to 4 hours between pups. If she is seen
straining hard for over an hour, or if she takes longer than a 4-hour break, consult a veterinarian.

Expect some puppies (probably half of them) to be born tail
first. This is not abnormal for dogs.

Call Your Veterinarian If:

30 to 60 minutes of strong contractions occur with no
puppy being produced.

Greater than four hours pass between pups and you know there are more inside.

She fails to go into labor within 24 hours of her
temperature drop.

She is in obvious extreme pain.

Greater than 70 days of gestation have passed.

It is normal for the bitch to spike a fever in
the 24 to 48 hours following birth. This fever should not be accompanied by clinical signs of illness.

Normal vaginal discharge after parturition should be odorless
and may be green, dark red-brown or bloody and may persist in small amounts for up to 8 weeks.

Problems to Watch For

Metritis
(Inflammation of the Uterus)Signs of this condition are as follows:

fever

foul-smelling vaginal discharge

listlessness

loss
of appetite

no interest in the puppies

decreased milk production

If these signs are noted, usually in the first day or two postpartum, a
veterinarian should be consulted. Your dog may have retained a placenta or have suffered some trauma during delivery. Animals who have required assistance with
delivery are often predisposed to metritis.

EclampsiaThis condition results when the bitch has trouble supporting the calcium demand of
lactation. Calcium supplementation predisposes a bitch to this condition. Usually affected animals are small dogs. They demonstrate:

nervousness and restlessness

no interest in the pups

stiff, painful gait

This progresses to:

muscle spasms

inability to stand

fever

seizures

This condition generally occurs in the first 3 weeks of lactation and a veterinarian should be consulted
immediately.

Mastitis (Inflammation of the Breasts)Normal nursing glands are soft and enlarged. Diseased glands are red, hard, and painful. In
general, the bitch does not act sick; the disease is confined to the mammary tissue. The bitch may be sore and discourage the pups from nursing; however, it is
important to keep the pups nursing the affected glands. This is not harmful to the puppies and helps flush out the infected material. Hot packing may be helpful.

Most dogs are excellent mothers and problems are few. The basic rule is to seek veterinary care if she seems to feel sick or if she ceases to care for her young.
Puppies nurse until they are about 6 weeks old and then may be adopted by new homes.

There are many platitudes in the dog world, such as "A fast maturing puppy will fade" and "Only breed when you'll keep one for yourself." This last maxim is even
used to chastise breeders who do not keep a puppy from every litter. The idea is that in every litter there will be a star puppy who should be grown out by the
breeder.

The fact is that not all litters produce show puppies. Keeping even the best puppy from a mediocre litter will not achieve the breeder's objectives. It would be best
to
place these puppies in permanent companion homes and try something different the next time around, but this is not often done in our breed. Instead, the breeder
keeps the best in a particular litter, grows out the pick puppy, and takes her to dog shows. Dog shows are unforgiving and soon identify mediocrity. A determined
person will put many shows on an average dog in an attempt to "prove" her breeding program. It would be better to make a more critical evaluation of puppies at 8
weeks and come to more realistic conclusions about their future prospects.

Another example of conventional wisdom involves litter frequency. This is carried to extremes when people start judging breeders by numbers: "Did you know she
had (three, four) litters last year?" As if this were something shameful. In our breed, which has fallen from 36th in AKC registrations to 100th in a decade, this
so-called wisdom is hardly wise. We need dedicated people who are willing to study, spend the time, and do the work necessary to breed dogs. Having one litter
every few years does not make one a breeder, nor does it provide a person with the experience required to whelp and raise puppies or to develop a consistent line
of dogs.

When you have questions and problems with a litter, who do you call? I call someone who has been breeding dogs for 50 years and, at one time that I remember,
had three litters at once. He is in another breed, and has never been criticized for the excellent job he did with his puppies. Spring always found him whelping at least
one litter for himself, and perhaps a few more for other people. We need these master breeders desperately: They have a wealth of knowledge to share about
breeding dogs and raising puppies. We also need more ways to record their knowledge, share it with others and preserve it for the future.

We need dedicated people in our breed and, in fact, in every breed to continue the lines and to work to breed the best dogs possible. As baby boomers retire from
breeding dogs over the next two decades, we will have to recruit new breeders to carry on. Holding people back with worn-out phrases will not work.

There is room for everyone, for those who can breed only occasionally and for those who will become the master breeders of the future. We need to encourage and
learn from those who have the time, resources, and dedication to spend shaping the future of our breeds.

Reprinted from the June 2006 AKC Gazette breed Keeshonden breed column. Written by Deborah A. Lynch. Deborah A. Lynch is the Executive Vice-President
of the AKC Canine Health Foundation. She has been a breeder and exhibitor of Keeshonden since 1971 under the Foxfair prefix. She is a member of the
Keeshond
Club of America and is past President of the Buckeye Keeshond Club. Deborah has also been a member of the Dog Writers Association of America and has
judged her breed both in the USA and England.